climate change by 2010
6 March 2009
"The 2009 Climate Summit was a seminal event. As a milestone on the road to
building a national consensus on the country's long term climate policy, the
summit far exceeded our expectations. There could not have been a stronger
expression of political will by government and other stakeholders, a deeper
understanding of the compelling scientific evidence that will inform
policy-making, or a greater commitment to moving forward with implementation
than what we have witnessed over the past four days," said Marthinus van
Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism today.
After intensive deliberations by 700 delegates from government, business,
labour and civil society, the 2009 Climate Summit concluded with strong
guidance on the strategic direction for an effective climate policy as well as
an ambitious work programme for policy development.
The summit laid the foundations for a participatory process that will
culminate in a Policy White Paper on climate change by 2010, and the
translation of this policy into a legislative, regulatory and fiscal package by
2012. In line with the summit theme of "Climate Action Now!", and in order to
meet the challenge of implementation, the policy development process will
proceed with a sense of great urgency.
The summit was designed to be forward-looking, translating political will
and the best available scientific evidence into policy and action. The summit
was also a celebration of what we have achieved over the past four years.
"Since the first climate summit in 2005, we have made major strides by
integrating climate change issues with the daily work of government, business
and civil society. We have much to be proud of," said van Schalkwyk.
Yet, important challenges and tough decisions lie ahead said the minister.
"I am encouraged by the strong resolve to meet the dual challenges of
adaptation and mitigation by placing sustainable development and poverty
eradication at the forefront. The strong consensus on making the transition to
a climate resilient and low carbon economy and society will underpin our future
work. Parallel to the policy development process, we will actively continue to
implement our priority actions. Early gains can be achieved by massively
up-scaling our efforts in respect of energy efficiency and renewable
energies."
The minister indicated that at the same time we will continue to grapple and
engage on areas where consensus still eludes us, most importantly on the
optimal energy mix for the country. This is the single most important area of
work. In addition, various gaps were identified as priorities for future policy
development. All stakeholders from national, provincial and local government to
business, the scientific community and civil society have a clear understanding
of these priorities and their respective contributions.
To access the outcome documents and for further information on the Climate
Change Summit visit http://www.ccsummit2009.co.za
For media queries contact:
Roopa Singh
Cell: 082 225 3076
Carol Moses
Cell: 082 829 3917
Judith van der Merwe
Cell: 083 321 2617
Issued by: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
6 march 2009
